Henry Olsen

Washington, D.C.

Education: Claremont McKenna College, BA in political science; University of Chicago Law School, JD

Henry Olsen is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. He was the Thomas W. Smith distinguished scholar in residence at Arizona State University for the winter/spring 2023 semester. Olsen began his career as a political consultant at the California firm of Hoffenblum-Mollrich. After three years working for the California Assembly Republican Caucus, he returned to school to become a lawyer. Following law school he clerked for the Honorable Danny J. Boggs on the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and as an associate in the Philadelphia office of Dechert, Price & Rhoad
Latest from Henry Olsen

The GOP’s silver linings after Virginia election losses

Tuesday’s results knocked the GOP down, but they did not knock the party out.

November 9, 2023
Republican Tate Reeves, during his campaign to become Mississippi's governor, in Tupelo on Nov. 1, 2019. (Rory Doyle for The Washington Post)

What Ron DeSantis doesn’t seem to understand about Ronald Reagan

Like Reagan, DeSantis is telling voters that the next election ‘is a time for choosing.’ Yet he has not yet asked them to make the only choice that matters.

November 6, 2023
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican candidate for president, during a GOP primary debate in Simi Valley, Calif., on Sept. 27. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post)

Biden should take Dean Phillips’s 2024 campaign seriously, not literally

If Phillips overperforms in the early primary states, the calls for Biden to step aside will grow louder.

October 25, 2023
Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill on Oct. 1, 2021. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Nikki Haley might have an ace in the hole: Independent voters

There is a possibility that the polls are massively wrong.

October 17, 2023
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley speaks at the New Hampshire Republican Party's First in the Nation Leadership Summit in Nashua on Oct. 13. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)

Neither Steve Scalise nor Jim Jordan is an ideal speaker candidate

The next speaker must know how to appeal to moderates and grow the party.

October 10, 2023
Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Steve Scalise (R-La.) confer during a news conference at the Capitol on June 8, 2022.

How the Virgin Islands could play a key role in choosing the GOP nominee

With ranked-choice voting, Virgin Islanders could indicate how Trump would fare in a narrower field.

October 3, 2023
Former president Donald Trump at a rally in Rapid City, S.D., on Sept. 8.

Bob Menendez is right not to step down

Whatever happened to “innocent until proven guilty”?

September 27, 2023
Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) exits a federal court in New York City on Sept. 27.

Enough is enough. McCarthy must bring the GOP rebels to heel.

He should hit them where it hurts: their reelection prospects.

September 23, 2023
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 22.

The pro-life movement should abandon Trump over his abortion comments

The former president has made clear that he doesn’t support what pro-lifers have been fighting for.

September 19, 2023
Former president Donald Trump speaks during the Pray Vote Stand Summit in D.C. on Sept. 15. (Al Drago/Bloomberg)

Mitt Romney’s third party would never work. But this one might.

Mitt Romney and Joe Manchin have discussed forming a new party. Good luck with that.

September 18, 2023
Sens. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) head to a vote on Capitol Hill on March 30, 2022. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)